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Akatsuki (AR)
This article follows the Naruto: Akatsuki Gaiden storyline and the Naruto: Akatsuki Reborn storyline. ---- is a group of shinobi that exists outside the usual system of hidden villages. Over the course of several decades, Akatsuki took different forms and was led by different individuals. Though each iteration is viewed as either subversives or criminals, all seek to make the world a better place through their own means. Each Akatsuki tends to have multiple lairs across the world, inaccessible either due to their remoteness or the various security measures that protect them. History Part I - Part II Akatsuki was originally founded by Yahiko during the Third Shinobi World War, alongside his childhood friends Nagato and Konan. Orphans of the Second Shinobi World War, the three created Akatsuki as a way to bring peace to their home country of Amegakure, which too often got caught in the crossfire of the Five Great Shinobi Countries' many conflicts. Their desire for an end to war attracted many fellow Ame ninja to their cause and, in time, word of their exploits began to travel beyond Amegakure's borders. Akatsuki's early fame was owed largely to Yahiko's leadership and his natural charisma, which kept the group united and motivated them to persevere despite the difficulties of their goal. Yahiko, however, viewed himself as merely a facilitator for Nagato, who would ultimately be the actual source of world peace because of his Rinnegan. In time, Akatsuki's fame began attracting unwanted attention. They were first approached by Tobi, who claimed to be Madara Uchiha and offered to lend his assistance to Akatsuki, specifically Nagato. Yahiko was wary of Tobi and refused his offer, though Tobi claims Yahiko eventually agreed. Ame's leader, Hanzō, also became aware of Akatsuki and perceived them as a threat to his rule, a belief encouraged by Danzō Shimura. Hanzō approached Akatsuki offering to help them broker peace between Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure. When Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan arrived to meet with him, however, they were ambushed by Hanzō's men and Danzō's Root, who took Konan hostage and forced Yahiko to commit suicide in order to save her. Enraged by Yahiko's death, Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and used it to slaughter their attackers, though Hanzō himself escaped. The other members of Akatsuki were tipped off to Hanzō's plan and attempted to provide backup to Yahiko and the others. Tobi intercepted them and killed them all. With Yahiko's dying breath he entrusted the pursuit of peace to Nagato. Nagato, grieved by Yahiko's death, came to believe that the world would never willingly consent to peace and that Akatsuki's previously pacifist approaches were therefore futile. He concluded that the only way the world would turn away from its constant warfare would be to experience such catastrophic death and destruction that it could never again stomach the idea of conflict. Intending to be the one to show these horrors to the world, Nagato began using the alias "Pain" and formed the Six Paths of Pain, into which he integrated Yahiko's corpse so that he could symbolically continue leading Akatsuki. Nagato sought out Obito, under the guise of Madara Uchiha, and accepted his earlier offer of support, which he provided in secret. After the Third Shinobi World War, Akatsuki began recruiting S-rank missing-nin, including assembling a small subgroup to aid with financial flow, which sometimes involved a certain level of force. Once Akatsuki recruited its target of ten members, Akatsuki began following a three-step process to achieve this stated objective: #Obtain enough money to support their organisation. #Provide mercenary services at well under the competitive rate, using the money gathered in the first step to offset costs. This will make countries increasingly dependent on Akatsuki's services, corner the entire market for shinobi missions, and eventually put all of the shinobi villages out of business because they can't compete with Akatsuki's prices. By capturing and strategically deploying the tailed beasts, Akatsuki could quickly start and then quell wars, thereby speeding up the process. #Once all other major shinobi forces have dissolved, Akatsuki will be able to quickly conquer all the countries of the world. The early years of Nagato's Akatsuki were very successful, as the hidden villages increasingly hired Akatsuki to fight in wars and perform assassinations that the villages themselves were unwilling to get involved in during times of peace. Despite being such a popular and successful group, Akatsuki was largely a mystery to those outside the organisation, with many (incorrectly) coming to believe they operated out of Kirigakure. Although Akatsuki experienced some turmoil amongst its members over the years -- Kakuzu regularly killed his partners in fits of rage and stole their hearts for his Earth Grudge Fear (only being teamed with the immortal Hidan prevented him from continuing to do this), Orochimaru attempted to steal Itachi Uchiha's body after the latter joined the organisation, and when that failed he was forced to defect -- the organisation was able to begin working towards capturing the tailed beasts. Nagato's actual objective behind acquiring the tailed beasts was to harness the tailed beasts' chakra to create a powerful kinjutsu, using it to wipe out one side in a conflict and frighten the other side and the world at large to stop the fighting. If and when the fears abated and conflicts renewed, the kinjutsu would be deployed again, creating small periods of peace in an endless chain of hatred. Because all but one of the tailed beasts were in the possession of the hidden villages, their capture risked antagonising many of Akatsuki's former clients. Akatsuki's mission to capture the tailed beasts gradually elevates them from the shadows of the world and, in turn, prompts a growing resistance by the hidden villages. After Deidara captures the One-Tail, Sasori is killed in battle with the Suna and Konoha forces sent to rescue the One-Tail's jinchūriki. Obito takes this open position as an opportunity to officially join Akatsuki as "Tobi", helping capture the Three-Tails. Around the same time, Hidan and Kakuzu capture the Two-Tails, but both are subsequently defeated in unrelated confrontations with Konoha's Nijū Shōtai. Kisame Hoshigaki later acquires the Four-Tails, after which both Deidara and Itachi separately die in battle against Sasuke Uchiha. Because of their shrinking numbers, Tobi pressures Nagato into taking a more active role in capturing the remaining tailed beasts. He and Konan are first sent to capture the Six-Tails. They are afterwards sent to Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails, and in the course of the resultant Pain's Assault the village is destroyed. When he finally locates and meets with the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Naruto Uzumaki, Nagato begins to doubt the direction he has taken Akatsuki in since Yahiko's death. After Nagato's Six Paths of Pain are defeated, Naruto convinces him that a bloodless peace is worth pursing no matter how impossible it may seem. To make up for all the missteps he took, Nagato gives his life to revive the Konoha villagers that died during his attack, using his last breath to encourage Naruto to achieve the peace that he was never able to. With Yahiko and Nagato gone, Konan opts to leave Akatsuki. Tobi approached Akatsuki in order to get close to Nagato, whose Rinnegan he needed to complete the Eye of the Moon Plan. Over the years, he remained in the shadows, allowing Nagato to appear to the world as Akatsuki's leader while Obito manipulated him towards his desired ends, specifically capturing all nine tailed beasts so that he can restore the Ten-Tails and use it to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi on the world, ending all conflict by trapping everyone in a dream. Obito follows the Eye of the Moon Plan under instructions of the real Madara Uchiha, whose identity Obito assumed after Madara's death. Madara intended Obito to have Nagato revive him in the final stages of the plan, though Obito had no plans to uphold that end of the plan and intended to use Nagato to revive himself should anything happen to him. However this subterfuge was rendered moot by Nagato betraying Obito and using the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive everyone he killed during his invasion of Konoha. Even before Nagato's death, Obito takes a growing role in Akatsuki's activities, due in large part to Itachi Uchiha's death. He reveals himself to Kisame, who worked with him during their time in Kirigakure and is happy to collaborate with him yet again. He eventually promotes Chi into Akatsuki ranks and convinces Sasuke Uchiha and his team, Taka, to join forces with Akatsuki, an alliance that Obito believes is worth the losses of all the other Akatsuki members, which earns him distaste from the Chi kunoichi. While Nagato goes after the Nine-Tails, Obito sends Taka after the Eight-Tails, the only other remaining tailed beast. Although Taka initially appears successful, they are discovered to have been tricked by the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, Killer B. When Zetsu shortly afterwards reports Nagato's own death, Obito is deeply agitated by the setbacks, particularity Nagato's betrayal, and increasingly irritated by Naruto's constant thwarting of his plans. With their ranks so diminished and with the Five Great Shinobi Countries finally starting to mobilise against Akatsuki, both because of the attack on Konoha and the botched capture of Killer B, Obito is forced to start taking drastic actions. He first sends Kisame and Amaterasu Tanako to capture B and then sends Taka to attack the Five Kage Summit. Sasuke does not perform as well against the Five Kage as Obito wished, as he had hoped they would be weakened enough to be forced to negotiate. Instead, he must approach them diplomatically, asking that they help him complete his Eye of the Moon Plan by surrendering the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails. They refuse, prompting Obito to initiate the Fourth Shinobi World War. While preparing for war, Obito is approached by Kabuto Yakushi, a former subordinate of Sasori and Orochimaru. Kabuto offers to bolster Akatsuki's fighting strength with the Impure World Reincarnation, reviving Akatsuki's past members and several other once-notable shinobi. Obito is reluctant until Kabuto blackmails him by reviving the real Madara Uchiha, on whose name Obito has been banking the credibility of his threats against the hidden villages. Obito is forced to agree. He then goes to Amegakure to take Nagato's Rinnegan, killing Konan in the process. This prompts Kirameki Rōga to defect upon realizing they were only useful to Obito as pawns. News eventually reaches them of Kisame's death, but Kisame is at least able to send them intel that enables Kabuto to strengthen Obito's White Zetsu Army. In the two days of the war between Akatsuki and the Allied Shinobi Forces, both sides suffer heavy casualties, with Amaterasu being pushed to her kekkei genkai's limit in an outrage and thus killing a number of allied shinobi (and likely herself) in the process, yet Naruto and Killer B elude capture. When most of the White Zetsu are defeated, Ochita is critically injured and presumed dead, and Kabuto is made to end the Impure World Reincarnation, Obito, having no more options, prematurely revives the Ten-Tails. Madara, having escaped Kabuto's influence, lends a degree of support, eventually leading Obito to become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki. He is defeated by Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke (who has since sided against Akatsuki) before he can perform the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and as a result Obito stops pursuing the Eye of the Moon Plan. With Obito's surrender, Akatsuki's schemes officially end. Blank Peroid TBA New Era TBA Members Yahiko's Akatsuki * (deceased), (deceased), (deceased), , , (deceased) Nagato's Akatsuki * (deceased), (incapacitated), (deceased), (deceased), (deceased), (deceased), , (disbanded; later deceased), (deceased), (deceased), (disbanded), , Tobi's Akatsuki *Amaterasu Tanako (presumed deceased), (deceased), Kirameki Rōga (disbanded), (deceased), Ochita (presumed deceased), (deceased), (deceased) Nagato's Akatsuki (Reborn) *Amaterasu Tanako, Deidara, Hidan, Itachi Uchiha, Kakuzu, Kirameki Rōga, Kisame Hoshigaki, Konan, Nagato, Ochita, Sanga, Sasori Kouta's Akatsuki *Emi Hoshigaki, Deisho, Hiro, Kitaryn, Kouta, Kuma Dōkutsu, Masanori Kamioka, Ren Hoshigaki, Rōnin, Setsuna, Shisui Uchiha, Sumiko Nakadai, Tenshi, Toshio Wardrobe Classic Akatsuki Members of Nagato's Akatsuki wear long, black cloaks with red clouds, a red interior, and a chin-high collar; Tobi and the members of Taka wore a similarly-marked hooded mantle. The red clouds represent the rain of blood that fell in Amegakure during its wars, and were viewed as a symbol of justice by its original members. Underneath, they wore outfits in a variety styles with matching black and navy color schemes. Members also crossed out the symbol on their forehead protectors to symbolise the severed ties with their former villages (though some members opted to not wear them at all). All members also wear nail polish on their fingers and toenails. When travelling, members sometimes wear conical straw hats with small ornamental torques and tassels hanging down over their faces, possibly to go unnoticed by the general population as most are S-class criminals. Under Nagato, each member of Akatsuki was given one of ten rings, to be worn on a specific finger. Other than apparently signifying one's membership, the rings had some role in sealing the tailed beasts into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, indicating which of the statue's finger the members were to stand on. This trend was eventually discontinued. New Gen. Akatsuki In honor of the memory of the last generation, members of Kouta's Akatsuki wore newly modified versions of their predecessors' signature Alatsuki cloaks; they sported long black vests (worn open by most members) that were shorter in the front with red clouds near the bottom, a red interior, and a chin-high collar. Members also typically wore a distinctive red obi, notably kunoichi members, and different styled outfits underneath their vests with matching color schemes. Associates In addition to its core members, Akatsuki has several affiliates spread across multiple countries. Almost all of them associate only with specific members rather than the entire organisation. Classic Akatsuki *Villages **Amegakure (base of operations for Pain), Kirigakure (previously controlled by Madara, and later Obito) *Allies **Yūra (Sasori's underling), Mukade (Sasori's underling), Funari (Kakuzu's subordinate), Ginji (Kakuzu's banker), Kyōya (Kakuzu's accountant), Zangei (Kakuzu's bounty collector), Kabuto Yakushi (Sasori's spy, later collaborator with Obito), Madara Uchiha (collaborator with Obito), Tobi (ally of Madara and Obito) *Groups **Chi (subordinates), Taka (affiliated group) New Gen. Akatsuki *Villages **TBA *Allies **TBA *Staff **TBA *Groups **TBA Teams Classic Akatsuki Under Nagato, Akatsuki members were organised into teams of two, usually paired based on perceived similarities or advantageous combinations. Although some pairs got along better than others, few seemed to actually like each other; members always had separate rooms when staying at hotels (although there were exceptions). Hostilities tended to exist even between members who weren't partners, though they so rarely met that this was rarely an actual problem. Teams would travel the world pursuing Akatsuki's goals, only convening when summoned by Nagato, typically to seal a tailed beast. *Nagato & Konan **Nagato and Konan are the only members who consistently get along, being childhood friends and fellow members of the original Akatsuki. Because Nagato is Akatsuki's leader, Konan tends to defer to him, doing as he instructs even when she personally disagrees. *Black Zetsu & White Zetsu **Zetsu is an associate of Tobi made of two seperate personalities who helped him approach Nagato and officially joined Akatsuki seemingly long before Tobi does. *Orochimaru & Sasori **Orochimaru and Sasori were one of the earlier Akatsuki teams to be formed. Little is known of their deeds, but they apparently were quite effective together. ***(Sasori held a grudge against Orochimaru after he defected from Akatsuki and took a personal interest in his activities afterwards.) *Jūzō & Itachi **Jūzō and Itachi worked very well with each other, being involved in at least three missions together, which involved assassination and sabotage. The two partners had an unique system of formations in order to better synchronise with each other. ***(Jūzō was eventually killed by the Fourth Mizukage during an assassination attempt on a citizen. After severely injuring Yagura, Itachi put the remains of Kubikiribōchō into his partner's hands.) *Itachi & Kisame **Despite conflicting personalities, Itachi and Kisame get along well: Kisame has a greater predisposition towards violence, but always follows Itachi's instructions, even when it denies him an opportunity to kill someone. *Sasori & Deidara **Each views themselves as an artist, though has little respect for the other's preferred art form: Sasori believes art is eternal, as in a puppet, while Deidara believes art is fleeting, as in an explosion. Deidara pays some deference to Sasori since he's more experienced. *Kakuzu & Hidan **Hidan and Kakuzu actively hate each other: Hidan believes Kakuzu is sacrilegious and Kakuzu desperately wants to kill Hidan. Despite this, the two are arguably the most effective of Akatsuki's teams, variously called the and the . *Deidara & Tobi **When Tobi replaces Sasori in Akatsuki he also becomes Deidara's new partner. Per the persona he assumes, Tobi regularly annoys Deidara, either through open disrespect or out of apparent ignorance. ***''Deidara attempts to kill Tobi several times out of irritation, but never manages to succeed, or at least follow through. Unaware of Tobi's true identity, he takes him on as a sort of disciple.'' New Gen. Akatsuki Under Kouta, Akatsuki members are organised in teams of two, the members paired with multiple partners within the organisation depending on the nature of the mission, although there is a repetitive pattern of certain partners being chosen to work together. Most pairs get along well with each other socially while others display similar interactions of past members. Despite this, there are also pairs that sync better on different missions, and they are chosen accordingly. Teams travel the world pursuing Akatsuki's goals (mostly money-making jobs), only convening when summoned by Kouta. Trivia * if written as "Aka Tsuki" (赤月), translates to "red moon". *TBA ---- Credit goes to the original Narutopedia authors for use of their content.